Water Stewardship Information Sources

Resource Name Mapping hydrologically sensitive areas on the Boreal Plain: a multitemporal analysis of ERS synthetic aperture radar data
Unique File Number 312
Information Type applied research
Surface Water A
Aquatic Ecosystem
Groundwater
Groundwater & Surface Water A
Management for Natural & Industrial Hazards
Strengths Boreal plain specific examination of use of remote sensing to identify and map hydrologically sensitive areas
Limitations availability of fine scale data on topography and vegetation
Challenges
Outstanding Research Questions
Outstanding Research Questions
Information Subtype boreal hydrology
Organization University of Western Ontario
Resource Name Clark RB, Sass GZ, Creed IF. 2009. Mapping hydrologically sensitive areas on the Boreal Plain: a multitemporal analysis of ERS synthetic aperture radar data. International Journal of Remote Sensing 30: 2619-2635.
Resource Purpose Characterizing the spatial and temporal dynamics of hydrologically sensitive areas (HSAs) is vital to the effective management of the boreal forest. HSAs are defined as saturated or inundated areas that, if disturbed, might result in a significant change in the movement of water, nutrients and biota within landscapes. This study presents a remote sensing technique that uses archived European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS)-1 and ERS-2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images to monitor HSAs in the Willow River watershed (1030 km2 ) on the western Boreal Plain of Canada. ERS images were used to generate a probability of HSA occurrence map for a 10-year period (1991–2000). This map revealed the complexity of HSAs on the western Boreal Plain, where some areas remained consistently dry or wet whereas others were dynamic, transitioning from dry to wet and vice versa. A probability map of HSA occurrence provides spatial and temporal information previously unavailable for this region that may expand our understanding of the hydrological behaviour of drainage basins and serve as a planning tool for land management decisions.
Type of Information article
How does this help decision making?
Program Status complete
NE Coverage boreal Plains
Drinking Water
Ecosystem
Fish
Groundwater y
Public Safety
SW Quality y
SW Quantity y
Link http://www.uwo.ca/biology/faculty/creed/PDFs/Journal%20Articles/044%20Clark%20et%20al%202009%20-%20Mapping.pdf
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Contact Email [email protected]